After predicting that the Guilford Golf team would lose its second-place national ranking and fall to third or fourth, coach Jack Jensen probably found himself surprised.”We’ve played poorly recently, and with the new national ranks, we’ll probably get knocked down,” Jensen said the day before the most recent Coach’s Poll Division III rankings were announced, which as of April 4 placed Guilford second only to Methodist College, in Fayetteville, NC.

“Almost all of the best teams in the country are in the Southeast,” Jensen said. “There’s better weather here which makes it a tough area to lead – it’s very competitive.”

Jensen has his eye on the one spot above him; last year the team was one shot short of the national championship, and with four returning players, he expects them to be in the running.

This will be tough, with key player Ricky Gandhi out due to injury. “We’ve never had our best five all playing at the same time” this season, Jensen said, “but we’re talented enough to win with what we have.” Gandhi suffered injuries to discs in his back and will probably not return by the end of the season.

The conference championship, which the team hopes to win, is April 22, followed by the national tournament in Lincoln, Neb., on May 13. Guilford has been known to beat several Division I teams at tournaments, as it did 18 schools at its second-to-last tournament, according to the Guilford sports website.

“We compete nationally, not by conference,” Jensen said. “May 13 will be a much better test in terms of national rank.